PHILIA is proud to present a solo show by Panorammma Atelier in its hometown Mexico City during Design Week Mexico (7 October – 3 November 2024).

The exhibition Chainmail presents more than a dozen pieces by the design studio, including iconic pieces such as the Chainmail Chair and the latest creations such as the Cobweb Chandelier. The selected pieces are made with a special medieval technique used to meticulously combine metal rings. 

Working with this technique of bringing several rings together to create structures of support since the beginning of her practice, the designer is fascinated by the connotations and the possibilities of this material. Chainmail consists of a series of hand-linked rings coming together to form a strong and flexible mesh that drapes like a textile. Simple in concept but extremely versatile and charged with meaning. The result of this old craft looks industrial and modern.

Chainmail embodies grandeur and victory but also violence. Initially used for armor, it is now also used in jewelry, perforations, restraint, bondage, and discipline. Presenting such material in a thone-like manner for the Chainmail Chair demands addressing its taboo associations. The pieces realized with this material mix myths of a medieval past with everyday life and bring forth a complex way of living in the present. 

The designer considers the objects resulting from these encounters as pseudo props, which act out connecting bridges between times and creating fissures from which fantasy spills into our reality and informs an imaginative play, a scenography from parallel fiction.

The exhibit is hosted in the modern architectural gem by Estudio Jorge Campos, a multidisciplinary studio of architects, designers, and 3D artists celebrating its 12th year anniversary.